Aramco, the oil giant, and the French soccer player, Paul Pogba started an Investment platform in London for U.K. Muslims. This investment platform is a physical branch and bank accounts backed with gold.
Saudi Aramco is the World’s largest oil producer and is also known as Saudi Arabian Oil Company. It targets to U.K.’s 3.9 million Muslim investments.
Islamic Fintech
On Bakers Street, central London, the glossy retail store is opposite a branch of HSBC, one of the world’s largest banks. Its design is similar to that of the Apple store. A former professional mixed martial artist, Khabib Nurmagomedov, is a promoter of the firm and will attend its opening on Tuesday.
A Wahed debit card allows users to put money into an exchange-traded commodity that tracks the gold price, so that they can buy everyday items with gold. Muslim – and non-Muslim – consumers can beat currency fluctuations and rising costs of living with Wahed, according to CEO Junaid Wahedna.
- Saudi Aramco and Paul pogba started a Fintech startup in London.
- This investment platform debuted with its own retail presence.
- Its target is to provide U.K.’s 3.9 million Muslim investors.
Wahedna said in an interview with CNBC “It’s a minority community, there’s a lack of financial literacy.”
The UK has seen a surge in start-up banks such as Monzo and Revolut that offer a range of financial apps and services without physical bank branches. Wahedna warned, however, that Muslim consumers might be left behind by this decision.
“In the United Kingdom, [the Muslim community is] actually one of the lowest socio-economic segments of the country,” Wahed’s boss said.
In addition to Saudi Aramco Entrepreneurship Capital, Wahed has raised $75 million in total funding to date and also received investment from French footballer Paul Pogba.
According to Refinitiv’s Islamic Finance Development Indicator, significant growth has been achieved from the past decades of Islamic finance and it crosses $4.9 trillion in 2025.
